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Evan nodded, his eyes moving back to the view.
‘Holly, I don’t want you to think I’m the perfect guy. I’m not. I will admit I’ve broken more than one heart in my life. Not on purpose, but because I didn’t see what I had in front of me. But right now, I do. I see you. I see your humour, your kindness, your hard work and the way your friends love you. That says everything to me. You don’t get friends like the ones you’ve got by being anything other than a brilliant person. And maybe there are a lot of things about each other we won’t like. Maybe some of them will turn out to be deal breakers, but if I’m honest with myself, I don’t think that’s the case. I want to see where this goes. This is not a holiday fling for me, Holly. But if you have feelings for this other guy… I don’t want to be second best.’
It was the most perfect speech, and her heart was close to bursting with how much it ached, but the problem was, it wasn’t the first time someone had given her a speech like that.
‘Evan, I think you’re amazing…’
‘Again, I can feel a but coming there.’
‘There’s no but. Except, I don’t know you. And this… this isn’t real life. Let’s be honest, when we’re back home, and I’m in my little cottage, running the sweet shop, co-parenting Hope and you’re jetting off to LA or Paris, it’s not going to be like this.’
‘I’m thinking it could be better, if I’m honest.’
‘Really? I’d like to know how.’
‘You mean, you can’t imagine how nice it would be to stay in a flat without Tyler downstairs snoring.’
‘Okay, well, that’s one thing.’
‘Holly, there are things you don’t know about me.’ He paused. ‘Parts of my life I don’t tell people about, but I find myself wanting to share them with you. I want to share everything with you. But I’m scared of getting my heart broken. When I saw you with Giles today, I could see how he looked at you. I could see what you meant to him, and it terrified me. You might think that I’m some player, but I’m not. I’ve never fallen this fast, Holly, and I’m scared too.’
She took a deep breath in, following it with a low sigh out. Why could life never be simple? Why were men always like buses? And if fate really was real, why did it hate her so much?
‘The thing about Giles and me, is we never were. Not really. There were feelings there, on both sides, but we never acted on them. I know how I feel about you, Evan, I do. But with him, I guess it’s a case of wondering what could have been. I’m almost positive it would have been a disaster; he drives me insane most of the time, but it’s…’
‘It’s the not knowing that makes it so hard?’
‘I guess.’
He paused, his eyes looking directly into hers.
Had she really just said that to him? Had she really spoken about Giles to a guy she was kind of sort of dating when she couldn’t even talk to her friends about him? She didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. Though if that wasn’t enough to surprise her, the words that came out of Evan’s mouth next were.
‘You should go and see him.’
‘What?’
‘You should go see him. Work out what these feelings are. If it’s the only way you know for sure that you want me, then that’s what you need to do.’
‘I don’t know…’
‘I do. Besides, it’s clear he’s still crazy about you. You don’t dive into the water in a shirt that expensive unless the girl is really worth it.’
‘Evan, that doesn’t feel right. I don’t feel right doing that to you.’
‘Why? This is best for both of us in the long term. Trust me, I’d rather find out now than in six months when I’m even more head over heels.’
The way he spoke made it sound rational, but could Holly really do that? Could she really see Giles after everything they had been through?
‘No, no. Anyway, I don’t have a way to get there.’
Standing up, Evan reached into his pocket and pulled out a key, which he threw to her.
‘I guess you should take the Vespa?’
40
With the keys in Holly’s hand, Evan headed back into the house, leaving her to decide what to do next. A chorus of cicadas were singing out into the night, while dense clouds drifted across the moon.
